The actress’s testimony went on in that manner for some time, describing how Johnny was swearing in front of her daughter and following the actress around the house, all the time getting louder and more objectionable. At one point he apparently told her that she would never get away from him and that in the future, if he said jump, she would jump; if he said hop, she would hop. When it looked as though he was going to strike her again, the woman stood firm, telling the man that he must never touch her, that she was “absolutely finished” with the relationship and wanted him to get out. Describing the killing, the actress went on to say that her daughter had walked into the room as the door opened, and she believed that the girl had hit her lover in the stomach. “I swear it was so fast,” she told the court. “The best I can remember they came together and they parted. I still never saw a blade.”
After the jury heard witnesses that included Mickey Cohen, Lana’s mother Mildred, a doctor, police officers and ex-husband Stephen Crane, it took just twenty minutes for the jury to decide that the death of Johnny Stompanato was justifiable homicide. This should have been the end of the matter but, unfortunately for Lana, this still did not convince her ex-lover’s brother Carmine of her innocence and he went straight to the press. “You’ll never convince me [of the story of Johnny’s death]. She lied right from the beginning,” he declared before asking the police (unsuccessfully as it turned out) to make Turner take a lie detector test.
The other members of his family did not believe the outcome either and assured everyone that their relative was a quiet man who was very much in love with the actress. Not so, said the Beverly Hills Police Chief Clinton Anderson, who described him as a gigolo who had been involved with the police on various occasions in the past. Other sources claimed he had forwarded his European hotel bills to Lana Turner, while it was also said he owed thousands to at least one other woman and was also suspected of blackmail attempts. If anyone wanted Johnny Stompanato’s memory to be a positive one, it was becoming apparent very quickly that this was not to be the case.
On 24 April it was time for Cheryl to take part in proceedings at the Los Angeles Juvenile Court, which saw her being asked if she would like to take on a new persona in the hope of not being recognized as the killer of Stompanato. She declined the offer and instead decided to fight it out in the glare of the spotlight, which prompted the judge to say, “that’s courage”, before adding that he felt her to be a very bright girl who had a wonderful future ahead of her. “Don’t let this destroy your future,” he said. “Don’t let all this attention that has been devoted to you, your mother and father during this period disturb your balance.”
“I’ll try,” replied Cheryl.
After being released from juvenile hall, Cheryl went to live with her grandmother and later recalled that it was a terrible time for her as she had no idea what was going on and had limited access to her parents. Not only that, but the shutters on the house had to remain closed for fear that the ever-present paparazzi would take photographs through the window. “It was such a feeling of being entrapped,” she later said in the 2001 documentary, Lana Turner:A Daughter’s Memoir.
Meanwhile, threats began to come into the offices of celebrity lawyer Jerry Giesler, who had managed to secure Cheryl’s release from prison. In four days he was the victim of at least four threatening phone calls, which at first he dismissed as being from cranks, but when a stranger telephoned Giesler’s wife at home and threatened to kill not only him but Turner as well, it was time to sit up and take notice. Another call came several days later from a sobbing woman, demanding that the lawyer keep the curtains of his home shut because the gang were “coming to get him”. Thankfully the threats ultimately did not come to anything. The police began keeping a twenty-four-hour surveillance of both homes, but were keen to assure everyone that they were not “overly concerned”.
Away from the threats and the custody battle came a new worry, this time from Stompanato’s family, who filed a suit for damages worth $750,000 on behalf of the man’s ten-year-old son. Not only that, but the suit brought up new rumours that Lana’s lover did not die in the way first presented at all, but while he was lying flat on the bed, and that it could have been Lana who inflicted the fatal blow, not her daughter. There was further gossip that the death could have perhaps been a result of both Lana and Cheryl stabbing the man, all of which was vehemently denied by Turner and her representatives.
As if this weren’t enough, Cheryl later went through another teenage rebellion which led to various scrapes with the law and a spell in a reformatory for girls who had “gone off the rails”. This was a trying period for everyone involved, but eventually everything settled down; the paparazzi disappeared along with the lawsuits; and Lana and her daughter were left to get on with their lives.
However, while the Stompanato killing was shown by the court to be justified, this has not stopped rumours from spreading over the years, with some people still refusing to believe that it was Cheryl Crane who held the knife that evening. Instead, they prefer to think that it was Lana Turner herself, and that she put the blame on her daughter to protect her reputation. Just as it was back in the 1950s, these rumours are no more than unfounded gossip, and it would seem that if it really was Lana who had killed her lover then surely her daughter would have stepped forward by now in order to clear her own name.
She has never done this, however, and instead has always been steadfast in sticking by what she originally told the court. She has laughed off the conspiracy theories with the simple words: “Nobody wants to believe the truth.” It would appear that she is right.
33
Marilyn Monroe: Suicide, Accident or Murder?
It may be over fifty years since Marilyn Monroe passed away, but her star continues to shine as brightly as it did in the 1950s. Her life was full of ups and downs, with various scandals along the way, but nothing was bigger than the headlines created by her death one Saturday evening during the first week of August 1962.
Marilyn’s life had been a series of fabulous achievements and tragic let-downs. Her marriages to James Dougherty, Joe DiMaggio and Arthur Miller had failed; her attempts at motherhood had gone unfulfilled; and by 1962 she was alone and living in Los Angeles after a period of creative fulfilment in New York.
At first Marilyn had been perfectly happy to rent an apartment; in fact, she had moved back into the building in which she had once lived in the early 1950s. However, knowing that she had never owned a home by herself, buying a house became something of the highest importance, and the perfect property was found at 12305 Fifth Helena Drive. It was a small, Spanish-style house on a very quiet cul-de-sac, nothing like what you would expect a worldwide star to live in, but it fitted Marilyn’s needs and she felt safe there, which was of the utmost importance.
Being raised as an orphan (though her parents were still alive) and in and out of foster homes for her entire childhood, the actual process of owning a home was a monumental achievement for Marilyn, and during 1962 she busied herself by making big plans for the home. She travelled to Mexico in order to buy furniture, and scoured the market on Hollywood’s Olvera Street for knick-knacks and ornaments. She loved nothing more than planning her home, and during times when she was not working, could often be seen pottering around in her garden, playing with her dog Maf and planting plants and herbs.
Sadly, however, in spite of the positive exterior, there were still dark forces in Marilyn’s life; mainly her problem with prescription drugs; hangers-on; and persistent illness. In May 1962 she infuriated her studio, Twentieth Century Fox, by jetting off to New York during the production of her last film, Something’s Got to Give. The trip was in order to sing “Happy Birthday” to President John F. Kennedy and the studio made no secret of their dissatisfaction, telling her point blank that she was not allowed to go.
This decision was a complete turnaround from one they had made just months before, when they actually gave the star their blessing for the trip. But when
shooting on the film got behind schedule, they decided there was just no time for Marilyn to travel out of state and revoked their permission. Always a rebel at heart, this did not deter Marilyn, and instead of obeying their wishes, she shocked everyone by travelling to New York regardless, eventually giving one of her most famous performances at Madison Square Garden.
Back in Los Angeles she resumed work on the film, taking part in a nude swimming scene which she said was designed to “knock Elizabeth Taylor from the front pages”. She succeeded, though her time on set abruptly came to an end not long after her thirty-sixth birthday, when she was fired due – the studio said – to her numerous absences from the set. The newspapers went wild and Fox unfairly blamed Marilyn for every problem encountered during filming. Crew members sold their stories and sarcastically thanked her for losing them their jobs; and Marilyn found herself the butt of many Hollywood jokes and stories.
However, while she may have been out of work, the star was most definitely not about to give up, and for the next few months she took part in various photo sessions, regularly saw her psychiatrist and entertained friends in her new house. She made an effort never to stray far from the public’s consciousness, and appeared in many newspaper and magazines all over the country, giving interviews and declaring her distaste for fame and the studio. Her efforts to stay in the public eye paid off and in the summer of 1962 it was believed that her lawyers were on the verge of securing a new agreement, which would mean a return to the set of Something’s Got to Give.
On 4 August 1962 Marilyn puttered around her home and lounged in bed in her white towelling robe. “She wasn’t ill,” said her housekeeper, Eunice Murray, “she was just resting.” She drank fruit juice and spoke to Mrs Murray about household matters, such as the three shipments of furnishings expected from Mexico, and a carpet which was being specially woven there. “The development of the house was so important to her,” said Murray, before going on to say that in the weeks before her death, Marilyn had everything to live for. “The plans we made were so wonderful,” she later declared.
During the course of the day, Marilyn received several phone calls and visitors, and in the afternoon she telephoned her old New York friend, the writer Norman Rosten, who found her “rambling but pleasant”. She talked of the future and was very excited about visiting New York in the autumn: “Let’s all start to live before we get old,” she told him – words that stuck with him for the rest of his life.
Several workmen came and went, among them Murray’s nephew Norman Jefferies and local mechanic Henry D’Antonio, who had been working on Mrs Murray’s car and returned it some time during the day of 4 August.
All seemed fairly normal until 4.30 p.m. when Marilyn’s psychiatrist, Dr Ralph Greenson, received a phone call, asking him to come to the house. Arriving at 5.15 p.m. he was said to have found his patient in a “somewhat drugged” and depressed state; and was so concerned he decided to telephone Marilyn’s physician, Dr Hyman Engelberg, asking him to come to the home. The doctor denied the request, however, as he was going through marriage problems and was unable – or unwilling – to leave his home at that time.
Concerned for her welfare, Dr Greenson suggested to Marilyn that housekeeper Eunice Murray drive her to the beach and then stay at the house that night – something she had done on numerous occasions in the past. The actress agreed and Mrs Murray prepared herself to stay for the night.
That evening, Marilyn received several phone calls from her friend (and President Kennedy’s brother-in-law) Peter Lawford, along with her stepson Joe DiMaggio Jr. During one conversation with Lawford, however, he became extremely concerned when her voice started to “fade out”. He relayed his worries to friend and showbiz manager Milton Ebbins, who told him he would put in a call to lawyer Milton Rudin, just to make sure everything was all right. Rudin later rang Marilyn’s home himself, but was unable to speak with her. Instead, he was assured by Eunice Murray that the actress was fine. He in turn relayed the information back to Peter Lawford and everyone resumed their evening.
According to Murray, at approximately 9 p.m. Marilyn appeared at her bedroom door and called out: “I think we’ll not go to the beach, Mrs Murray. I think I’ll turn in now.” The housekeeper nodded, bade her goodnight and watched as Marilyn closed the door for the very last time.
At 4.25 a.m., the emergency services received the following call from 12305 Fifth Helena Drive: “Marilyn Monroe has died. She’s committed suicide. I’m Dr Engelberg, Marilyn Monroe’s physician. I’m at her residence. She’s committed suicide.”
When Sergeant Jack Clemmons arrived at the scene, he was concerned to discover Eunice Murray operating the washing machine, even though it was the middle of the night. Meanwhile, doctors Greenson and Engelberg were in the bedroom with Marilyn’s dead body, which was lying face down in the bed; her hair was a mess and the bed-stand was littered with pill bottles.
From the start, the story of Marilyn’s discovery was patchy, to say the least, and changed numerous times from the 1960s to the 1980s when Eunice Murray eventually passed away. At the time of the death, Mrs Murray told police officers that she had awakened at around 3 a.m. and noticed a light and the telephone cord under Marilyn’s locked door. This was an odd statement as Marilyn’s room had a thick white carpet, so it would have been difficult to see a light under the door. Bizarrely, although she was steadfastly adamant that the door was locked when she spoke to police at the time, years later Murray changed her mind and claimed it had actually been closed but not locked at all. This was a startling revelation and has baffled fans ever since. Was her new statement the truth or just the result of old age confusing her memories? We’ll never know.
But back in 1962, when Murray was sure she could not get into the bedroom, the housekeeper said that she phoned Dr Greenson, who instructed her to pound on the door and look through the window. She did as she was asked, firstly knocking unsuccessfully on the door, and then walking round to the front of the house and peering through a gap in the curtain, where she saw Marilyn lying on the bed. This comment is an interesting one as the actress was a well-known insomniac who slept with her curtains drawn tight to avoid sunlight streaming through the window. How could Murray see through the curtains in those circumstances? Only if Marilyn had accidentally left the curtains slightly apart that evening.
However, for now let’s believe that the woman did gape through the curtains and did see Marilyn looking not quite right. Although the window was apparently open, Murray could not push back the curtains by hand in order to get a better look, owing to the fact that Marilyn’s bedroom had wrought-iron grilles covering the front window. According to the housekeeper, she then went into the house and took a poker from the living-room fireplace, made her way back outside and managed to push the curtains back with the rod. That way she managed to take a good look at what was going on inside Marilyn’s bedroom.
Murray said she discovered that the actress was lying on the bed with the phone in her hand, and “looking strange”. She phoned Greenson, who dressed and readied himself for the journey to Fifth Helena, and then Dr Engelberg, who did the same. When Greenson arrived at 3.40 a.m., he used the same poker that Mrs Murray had used to peek through the curtains, in order to break the side window (which did not have a grille) thereby enabling him to enter the room and examine Marilyn. Apparently he then discovered that rigor mortis had already set in and when Engelberg arrived at 3.50 a.m. he immediately declared his patient dead.
It did not take long for the news to spread, and Marilyn’s heartbroken ex-husband Joe DiMaggio flew into Los Angeles from San Francisco, booking himself into the Knickerbocker Hotel where Marilyn had driven him after their first date in 1952. From there he proceeded to arrange his ex-wife’s funeral and burial at Westwood Memorial Village, where numerous members of Marilyn’s family had been laid to rest years before. The evening before the funeral, he is said to have spent the night sitting quietly with her body in the chapel of rest.
&
nbsp; So how and why did Marilyn Monroe pass away? Well, after an autopsy was performed and an investigation conducted, the official verdict was probable suicide, following “acute barbiturate poisoning”. However, there are many people who dispute this and every year more and more outlandish stories are revealed, promising to solve her death “once and for all”.
Dr Ralph Greenson said he could not believe Marilyn purposely took her own life, while Milton Wexler, a psychoanalyst who looked in on Marilyn when Greenson was out of town, never believed it either. Despite some hard times in 1962, the professional future actually looked bright for Marilyn. Something’s Got to Give was possibly going back into production and numerous projects were in the pipeline for autumn 1962 right through to 1963.
On a personal level, however, there are pointers to the possibility that Marilyn may have been struggling emotionally, and that she was unhappy enough to consider suicide. There had been various personal bumps in the road that year, including the cooling of her allegedly close friendship with the Kennedy brothers and her dismissal by Fox being spun to depict her as a has-been with her career in free fall. Friendship was always an issue, and Marilyn had few people in whom she could confide: she had virtually no friends who were not employed by her in some way.
To cap it all, ex-husband Arthur Miller had recently remarried, and his wife was expecting a baby – news of which might have served bleakly to highlight Marilyn’s own childlessness. She had suffered several miscarriages during the Miller marriage, one of which had been on 1 August 1957, almost five years to the day before Marilyn died. Could this knowledge have been enough to tip Marilyn over the edge? Alas, we can only speculate.
The Mammoth Book of Hollywood Scandals Page 30
